Behind the Mask
by Rolling Tomorrow
Summary: Richard always wanted to be honest with Asbel, as the young lord was always sincere with him. However, some secrets are more difficult to reveal than others.


Behind the Mask

Once evening came and the kitchens were bustling with activity, they were able to sneak in and slip out one of the kitchen exits without drawing much attention to themselves. It was juvenile, even childish, but Richard wore a cloak to hide his face from view. Asbel swore that it was a perfectly sound disguise, though Richard had learned to hold some healthy skepticism for Asbel's deductive abilities.

Nevertheless, they managed to escape the palace grounds and set down the road that led to the cliff overlooking Barona's countryside. It felt liberating to sneak around, away from the prying eyes of dukes and nobles. Despite the fresh air and pleasant company, there was still a guilt haunting the king's mind. Walking at Asbel's side only served to remind him of it.

"Let's run the rest of the way," Asbel suggested with a smile when they walked past a familiar dilapidated cabin.

"Is it a race?" he asked lightly.

"I bet there's a law somewhere against challenging the king to a race," he said jokingly.

Richard shook his head slightly. "On three then?"

Asbel counted down and they set off at the same moment. It felt freeing to dash up the grassy slope without regard to court procedures; there was almost nothing more opposite. Richard felt himself becoming winded sooner than he would have liked, as training sessions after the day's duties were done was not nearly as demanding as actually being out in the world.

Nevertheless, Asbel reached the top just a few strides ahead of him. They were both breathless as they took the last few steps over to the edge of the cliff to get the full view of the landscape. They exchanged looks and both started to laugh, well aware of how ridiculous the race was.

"You must be spending too much time on the throne these days!" Asbel laughed.

"It was a close race," Richard countered.

"I thought you were going to catch me at one point."

"That was probably the most childish thing I've done since we went ramping all around as little kids with Sophie," Richard said.

"You haven't been subjected to tea parties recently," Asbel laughed. "At least not children's ones."

"They're probably more entertaining than afternoon tea with a duke," he said with a weary smile.

The grass of the plains was green in the height of summer life, but the twilight sky gave everything a tint of orange. The view had not changed much since they were children escaping the city to see the view; it was just as full of life as it was back then. The scenery was just about the only thing that remained unchanged over the years.

Just about, at least; there were still some that didn't change.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Richard asked, his tone oddly blank.

"Sure…what is it?" he asked, looking a bit surprised, though he seemed curious.

Richard turned to face Asbel and meet his gaze directly. He seemed concerned by Richard's sudden seriousness and a hint of worry was reflected in his blue eyes. Silence stretched on for a few moments before Richard finally spoke up.

"I'm the Mask of Barona," he said, tone perfectly serious.

Half of him hoped that Asbel would laugh and say that he knew, given how flimsy the disguise was.

Richard was not so fortunate. Asbel instantly looked surprised. He didn't speak at first and Richard was already starting to regret his decision to be honest. The lord blinked and his eyebrows became furrowed together in disbelief.

"How is that possible? You were always around…or I thought you were…" he trailed off, evidently thinking back to all of the situations.

"I would slip away and slip back before you noticed," he said with a guilty nod.

"I can't believe I didn't realize…though I guess your voices did sound similar."

"I really didn't think that it would go on for so long," Richard said, offering an uncomfortable smile.

Asbel crossed his arms and looked at his friend skeptically, though he seemed to be coming to terms with the idea. The initial shock seemed to have worn off, perhaps a sign that the conversation could carry on in a cheerful direction. With any luck, it would become something that they could laugh about instead of something that he felt faintly guilty about. He truly didn't think that Asbel would fall for the charade so repeatedly.

Any hopes were dashed when Asbel's expression became confused again.

"Wait – so – so then at the knight academy…_you_ gave me that book of men…doing things…with other men when you couldn't find the gald I left behind?"

Richard grimaced and quickly realized that some secrets may have been better left untold.

* * *

Author's note:

This title probably seemed so serious.

Like there would be some heartfelt confession.

And then…I did that.

I'm sorry…this is all I could think of for a happy secret prompt…..

One of my friends and me headcanoned that the book Richard gave Asbel was not your average embarrassing book.

Anyway, Nienyan requested this one on Tumblr! :D I'm currently doing AU fic requests I anyone wants to mosey on over to my blog, SexuallyFrustratedOrca.


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